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     1. What Shall I Give Thee, Master?   (1:41)
     2. Knowing and Doing God’s Will   (23:30)
     3. In the Highways, excerpt   (1:05)
     4. Ready   (3:29)

Colossians 1:9-10.  For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; ¹⁰That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.

Romans 12:2.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Hebrews 13:20-21.  Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, ²¹Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Philippians 2:5.  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.

How very wonderful is God’s call for me to be “filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” or, “to know what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”!  Every Christian ought to make that an object of their search: Oh, that I might know His will!  Oh, that I might be filled with the knowledge of Your will!

I remember how I was impressed by all these verses when the Lord first saved me.  I went through the Bible and picked them all out that talked about “walking unto all-pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God,” and verses that talked about pleasing God—being made “perfect in every good work to do His will.” 

Beloved, how very, very important it is.  And if it isn’t important to me, I’m not likely going to do like Solomon did when God came to him in a dream and asked him, “What do you wish?  You’re king now, and I’m God.  And what do you want Me to do for you?”  Oh, if God came like that to you, what would you ask for?  But Solomon asked for a wise and an understanding heart that he might know how to do the will of God.  And, oh, it pleased God.  Ought not every Christian to be minded like that?

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Have you noticed how he opens every epistle of his after that?  “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God”!  What are you by the will of God?  If God has His way—if the will of God is done in your life—something will happen.  One thing that will surely happen is that you’ll do His will, and you’ll “bring forth much fruit.”  And you will not be living for yourself anymore; you will be living “for Him who died for you and rose again.”  The plan of your life will not be made by your own carnal mind, but it’ll be made by heaven.  Almighty God will make his plan—in fact, He made his plan before the foundation of the world.  And the harmonies of heaven will begin to play a wonderful music in your life.  Every step will be on pitch.  You’ve got a long-range plan over your life, glory to God!  You’re geared to heaven.

What does he mean here when he says, “Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind”?  In another place he says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”  He talks about the carnal mind that’s “enmity against God” because the carnal mind is selfish—makes me live only for myself: everything in life revolves around my own wellbeing and the fulfillment of my own desires.  But now, Jesus is the center of my life—Jesus Christ commands.  He’s got a plan, praise God!  He says, “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life.”  I don’t live for this life anymore, nor for the comforts of life anymore.  “Mine eye has seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”  And like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who “confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims upon the earth,” they didn’t have to seek after earthly riches.  They were minded differently.  They saw “a city coming down from God out of heaven” that “hath foundation, whose builder and maker is God.”  And that’s why God called them His friends.

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Beloved, we’re minded like the world.  That’s what’s the matter.  And we’re going to be “condemned with the world.”  Oh, if God Almighty can come to me and can speak to me so as He was not able to speak to His Israelites of old—if He can speak to me as a son of God, He’ll tell me something else.  He’ll say, “Be transformed.”  Oh, to prove in my soul “what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”!

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The reason we don’t love one another is because we don’t have “the knowledge of the Holy God,” else I would find out that my brother’s my brother.  I owe him my life.  If Jesus gave His life for me, I ought to give my life for the brethren, “a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.”  I wouldn’t be likely to go to sleep on the job, but there’d be something forthcoming.  And even if I make a lot of mistakes, God would see that, and God Almighty would equip me, and He would soon sanctify me for the Master’s use, and prepare me unto every good work.  That’s the call of God: “a vessel unto honor, sanctified and meet for the Master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.”

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I tell you it’s a crime—it’s a capital crime—to come to a prayer meeting and not come to meet Jesus, and not come for Jesus Christ.  Why, we’re coming to meet God!  We’re coming to receive out of heaven!  We’re coming to draw, to ring the bells of heaven, to be heard on high!  That’s why we’re so flabby.  That’s why we’re so weak and so fruitless in prayer in our daily lives—in our ministry.  God is not going to honor those that don’t honor Him.

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Comments on false prophets.  “They’ll sneak around your back door and they’ll come around and tell you what the Lord told them to tell you.  Take a broom and kick ‘em out! … I know God has prophets, great prophets.  I know He has servants today who know His will.  And how can you tell who they are?  They won’t come and tell you what to do, but they’ll lead you to the Fountain—they’ll show you how to find out yourself.”    (from 5:13)

Stories of long waiting, and helping those who are seeking the Lord.  “It’s your business to get busy.  “Put on the whole armor of God” and get to prayer.  You’re a member of the body of Christ as well as I am”    (from 7:48)

A story of ministers who preferred watching a religious film to serving the Lord.    (from 10:08)

A revival brought about by following the Lord, even in an antagonistic church.  “Instead of having socials where boy meets girl, I took them into the forest to pray because we were not allowed to pray in the Baptist church.”    (from 11:34)

The story of a young minister who forsook his duty in order to socialize.  “I said, ‘Where is George?’  ‘Oh, he’s where the girls are.’”    (from 14:06)

Hanswurst — a tomfool.  “A pantomimic character, the clown or buffoon of old German comedy.  He was dressed in motley and provided with a cracking whip, and was noted for his vulgarity, gormandizing appetite, braggadocio, and cowardice.” — Webster’s Dictionary, 1913.

“Did you make New York dirty today?” — Reportedly, the text of New York Dept. of Sanitation anti-littering posters displayed profusely throughout the city, starting perhaps in the late 1940s or early 1950s.  One source mentions them specifically in subway cars.

Audio Quality: Fair

Original tape marked C/60.  We ran light hiss reduction, DeHummer 8 filter, -24dB at 59.55Hz, and compression. I believe we chose to use the right channel only for this message.  A number of long pauses were shortened, and a stutter or two was removed..  Around 21:22, “That’s why we’re so weak and so fruitfulless in prayer” was changed to “That’s why we’re so weak and so fruitless in prayer.”

Efforts to normalize the volume, which varies greatly throughout, has produced somewhat awkward results.  More work could perhaps be done on this.

The original media and project files are available upon request.